


Fur

by Bobrancius



Series: Rayllum Evolution [1]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Adorkable, Bad Puns, But Innuendo, Cuddling & Snuggling, Deep Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, Hugs, No Sex, Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series 03, Rayllum, Tenderness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24298000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bobrancius/pseuds/Bobrancius
Summary: Immediately after the end of season 3, Rayla and Callum get a moment of downtime and accidentally discuss grooming differences between elves and humans.  Female grooming isn’t Callum’s strongest subject, so he ends up feeling his way along.Plenty of Rayllum, including hugs, snuggles, humor, Callum embarrassment, and fluff.  All seasoned with some misunderstanding, insecurities and fears.  And some innuendo.  But very PG.  Because they’re adorkable teens.  Opeli is the stand-in parent, apparently.  Sorry, there are puns too.  Touches on broader topics but finishes with a happy ending.Inspired by coronavirus forcing people to rethink their grooming.
Relationships: Callum & Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Series: Rayllum Evolution [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1756489
Comments: 26
Kudos: 89





	Fur

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first fanfic ever. It’s longer than most but I hope it’s worth it.
> 
> I wanted to accurately depict young teens starting their first relationship from the viewpoint of a not-yet-15-year-old boy. And yes, that means confusion and embarrassment. Because being a teenager is hard.
> 
> Thanks for giving this a look!

Callum awoke slowly – gentle light filtering through still closed eyes. 

He was disoriented. Something didn’t feel right. It took him a moment to realize… the ground he was sleeping on was too soft. _Maybe I’m sleeping on a cloud,_ he thought dreamily. _I can fly to clouds now._ They would be soft like this. 

He began stretching lazily but was jolted awake by the pain in his ribs and neck – a vivid reminder of his encounter with Kasef yesterday. Opening his eyes, he noticed he wasn’t resting on a cloud but rather an extremely comfortable bed under fluffy covers. A circle in the ceiling glowed with a soft dawn light, illuminating the room.

Lying in the bed, he realized he was happy, even with the pain. So many amazing, impossible things they had worked and struggled for had actually happened.

Zym was safely back with his mother. Viren and his army were defeated. Humans and elves were working together.

And Rayla was his girlfriend.

That seemed the most amazing of all. Just thinking about it made him smile.

Lots of terrible things had happened too. And he would need to deal with those – but Big Feelings Time would have to wait. Because right now he needed to see Rayla.

It struck him how wrong it was to wake up and not have her there – like waking up and discovering the sun was missing. He desperately needed to see her. Hold her. Make sure she was alright.

He vaguely remembered she was in the room next to his. But he didn’t want to wake her if she was still sleeping – she needed rest as much as he did. Maybe he could listen at –

A tinkling of dishes outside his door interrupted his musings. 

_Probably someone leaving breakfast,_ he thought. He ignored his growling stomach as he mulled over how to check on Rayla without waking her. They likely also dropped off her breakfast in front of her door. If so, he could look down the hallway to see if her food was gone. Once it was, he could knock on her door. Problem solved!

Energized by the plan, he threw back the covers and slid off the bed. The short sleeve shirt and the shorts had been fine under the covers but were somewhat chilly now. The bedroom cloak from last night provided the desired warmth. He was surprised the floor was comfortably warm, considering it was carved from rock at the top of a mountain. He assumed this heating was the reason for only light weight sleep clothes and a cloak that stopped at his knees. Castle rooms – even for royalty like himself – were never this warm. Glancing around, he couldn’t find any obvious heating source. _Must be Sunfire elf magic,_ he thought. _Katolis would surely want to trade for that._ Now he sounded like Opeli! Maybe some of her princely training did sink in.

Opeli.

She was why he was in this room. It was hard to believe just yesterday Rayla had jumped off this mountain and he’d learned to fly. After Zubeia had woken up, Callum had continued standing in the dragon lair – still holding Rayla’s hand – with groups of elves and humans who were talking and laughing, discussing a brighter future and a possible alliance. How he and Rayla were a symbol of that possibility.

Opeli had been explaining that humans and elves needed to be sensitive to their differences during the upcoming peace discussions. How little misunderstandings could easily escalate and break an alliance. That learning each other’s culture was key to achieving peace. 

But he and Rayla had been exhausted and weren’t really listening – it wasn’t long before they slumped to the floor. Opeli had noticed their fatigue and somehow managed to get them both cleaned, fed and put to bed.

He remembered only fragments of her ministrations. The food was filling. The bath was hot. His room was next to Rayla’s. The sleep shirt and shorts were comfortable. The bedroom cloak was warm. The bed was soft. The pillow even softer. Then nothing. Just exhausted, dreamless sleep.

He finally looked around to take in the details of his room. Small and spartan with a two-person bed, a table and chair, some shelves carved in one wall, and a mirror. Looking in the mirror, he sighed at the sight of the wild animal on his head. Going to sleep with wet hair always gave him bed head. It was worse now because his hair hadn’t been cut in over a month. And the stray hairs on his face and neck needed to be trimmed.

He tried straightening the worst parts of the unruly pelt on his head, but finally resigned himself to dealing with it later. Rayla had seen him look much worse. At least he was clean.

Lifting the latch and cracking open the door, he peered into the hallway. It was empty except for a tray in front of his door with a covered bowl, a glass of orange liquid and something he recognized as a Xadian fruit. Rayla had taught him a lot about Xadian flora and fauna during their travels and he didn’t think that fruit had any seeds.

Opening the door completely, he picked up the tray and crept quietly to the next door on the right. He was fairly sure this was Rayla’s room, but it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious. The room didn’t have a tray in front of it, so he put his tray down and gently knocked on the door.

“Rayla… are you awake?” Callum asked in a half whisper. He paused. “Do you want to eat breakfast together?”

Not hearing a response, he leaned forward and pressed his ear against the door to see if he could hear anything on the other side. Still nothing. Oh well, if she wasn’t awake, he’d let her sleep and go eat in his room by himself.

Or maybe this wasn’t the correct door. He’d be very embarrassed if a stranger opened the door and found him with his ear pressed against it. He was certain it wasn’t polite to listen – 

The latch clicked. He jerked himself back so he wouldn’t fall into the room as the door swung open. Rayla stood in the doorway, a welcoming smile on her face. He stood staring for a moment – amazed at how good it was to see her again. He noted she was wearing similar night clothes and cloak – although he thought they looked much better on her. He could get used to seeing her in something other than armor.

“You weren’t spyin’ on me, were you,” she asked casually.

“No! Not at all,” he replied, snapping out of his musings. “I just didn’t want to wake you if you were sleeping,” he explained. 

She leaned forward and kissed his nose. “I’m just kiddin’,” she said. “It’s good to see you.”

“How about breakfast?” he asked, picking up the tray.

She stepped forward, putting her arms around his neck and moving her face close to his. “Sounds wonderful,” she said quietly. “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.” Her kiss stifled any reply. Callum was so lost in the warmth of her lips he barely noticed the tray in his hands tilting. “Whoa!” he shouted, jerking upright to level the tray. 

“Let’s put breakfast in us instead of on us,” she said releasing him. She turned and walked back into the room. “Come in and join me” she said grabbing the bowl and spoon on her tray. “Put your tray on the table, then sit here on the floor with me.” She sank to the floor and sat, leaning against the side of the bed.

Callum entered holding his tray and tried pushing the door closed with his foot, but it didn’t completely close. _It’s closed enough_ , he thought putting the tray on the table. He decided to try the bowl first since Rayla had started her bowl of – he wasn’t sure what it was – some type of thick cereal? Whatever it was, it smelled delicious. He grabbed the bowl and spoon then sat on the floor next to her. 

They sat quietly as the contents of their bowls quickly disappeared, the silence broken only by the sound of scaping spoons gathering the last bits. Her warm touch against his side reassured him even with no words exchanged. After they put their empty bowls on the floor, Rayla stretched out her legs next to his and snuggled against him. Sitting with her was just what he needed.

Callum poked his arm out from under his cloak and put it around her, then leaned his head against hers. Her legs were longer than his, so he rested his foot on top of hers – his five toes and her four. She had worn her boots almost continuously during whole journey, so he hadn’t seen her bare feet. He had always assumed she had four toes, but it was somehow reassuring to see for himself. Given everything they’d been through, she had surprisingly few cuts and scrapes on her legs. Proof that she was an amazing fighter. He remembered that time practicing with Soren when he fell and badly scraped his legs. He learned the hard way that scabs in leg hair were not fun – even though her leg hair was more like fuzz. 

He was relieved she seemed okay, even with some cuts and scrapes… on her attractive, bare legs. Yes, she had very nice legs. He hadn’t fully appreciated the muscle tone in the curve of her calves and… and… oh no… time to think of something else.

“How about those baths!” he said quickly. “I never thought I’d enjoy being clean so much. I guess when you’re stuck in the middle of a war, you forget how much you miss the little things in life. Just the normal stuff you take for granted until you can no longer do it.”

“Yea, like a delicious, hot breakfast,” Rayla offered. “Especially one we didn’t have to cook. Mmmmm…” She said with a satisfied sigh.

“And these beds are so warm and comfortable!” Callum continued. “I didn’t realize how much better I sleep in a real bed instead of on the ground.”

Rayla pulled some strands of hair in front of her face to study them. “I’m goin’ to need to get my hair trimmed.” Rayla turned to look at him sternly. “Your stunt at the Banther Lodge made it lopsided.”

“Hey!” he protested. “The plan kind of worked… right?”

“If by ‘kind of worked’ you mean ‘almost got me shot with an arrow’, then yea.” She reached up and ran a hand playfully through his hair. “You could use a trim too.”

“You are so right milady.” Callum tried his best to sound like the nobles he had heard at court in Katolis but wasn’t sure he was haughty and serious enough. Rayla giggled at his impression.

“Now that we’ll be rubbing elbows with all the important people of Katolis and Xadia, we need to be presentable,” he said returning to his normal voice. “We’ll both need to trim our hair and shave. I don’t have much of a beard yet, but using a knife to cut each hair on my chin that gets too long isn’t really the best –”

“I DO NOT HAVE A BEARD!” 

Callum jolted upright and turned towards her outburst. Rayla was no longer leaning against him but was sitting up straight with her arms crossed in front of her, staring at him with fire in her eyes. He pulled his arm back from around her shoulders.

His mind raced, replaying what he just said, searching for a clue. “What… no… of course you don’t have a beard.” 

“Then why did you say I need to shave?” Rayla demanded.

Callum had no idea what was going on. So, he tried a question. “Don’t you want to shave your legs and underarms now we’re back in civilization?” he asked tentatively.

“Why on Xadia would I want to do that?” she exclaimed.

“I don’t know,” he said becoming slightly irritated. He was just talking about what he thought were normal things for everyone. Everyone it seemed, except for elves. 

But now that she’d asked, he couldn’t think of a good reason. Women did lots of things he didn’t understand. “Honestly, I have no idea why they shave,” he said more calmly. “That’s just what women in Katolis do,” he tried as an explanation. He certainly wasn’t going to bring up the things he heard they did with their eyebrows.

Rayla didn’t seem to accept that answer. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped the cloak around her legs until the cloak completely covered all of her but her head. 

“Well, women in Xadia do not do that,” she said indignantly. “It sounds like a lot of work for something that is totally unnecessary.” She leaned her head forward to rest it on her knees, no longer looking at him.

Callum had no idea what to say. How could one statement explode into such a huge misunderstanding. He didn’t know why women shaved. He didn’t have women in his life with whom he discussed the finer details of personal grooming. Everything he knew was hearsay. It wasn’t something he had given much thought to – he just accepted it as normal.

Some hair had fallen, covering the sides of her face, but he could still tell she was terribly upset. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her – but he didn’t know how to make it right. He was afraid anything else he said would make it worse.

They sat a while in uncomfortable silence.

“Do you think I’m gross?” she asked, her voice slightly muffled as she spoke into her cloak. “Me and my fur.”

“No!” he shouted. “I think you’re the opposite of gross. Totally and completely not gross. Not even one tiny bit of grossness.” He realized he was rambling. Was she worried he thought she was ugly because of some hair?

“Because… I’d shave if you wanted me to,” she said soft and muffled, her head still down.

“Please don’t,” he said quickly. He placed his hand on her shoulder. “I think you’re beautiful just the way you are.” She didn’t move, so he continued. “I love you as is, no changes required, none at all… I’m serious.”

She lifted her head to look at him with moist eyes. “Really,” she asked, smiling a small, cautious smile. “You’re not just sayin’ that to make me feel better?”

“Yes. Really.” he said, leaning forward to look her in the eye. “I’ll prove it,” he declared. He’d show her he loved her just the way she was – especially her fur. His plan was terrifying – but her thinking he didn’t like her was worse.

She looked at him questioningly as he raised himself to kneel beside her. He placed his hands on her cheeks and slowly ran his fingers through the hair on either side of her head above her ears. 

“I love your fur up here…,” he said as he leaned forward to gently kiss the hair between her horns. 

Lowering his hands, he sat back on his heels and carefully pulled back the cloak exposing her arm. 

“I love your fur here…” he said, taking her now exposed arm by the wrist and elbow. He reverently raised it to his lips and kissed her arm above the wrist.

“I love your fur here…” He kissed her arm again, at the elbow.

Her eyes followed his kisses while her face slowly relaxed.

“And, I love your fur here…” He kissed her upper arm before gently lowering her arm in her lap. 

Rayla’s eyes widened as he slid his hands under the ankle and knee of her leg. 

“I love your fur here…” he said, bending her knee to raise her lower leg level in front of him before kissing her ankle.

Rayla smiled broadly, watching intently. He hoped this meant his proof that she was totally-not-gross was working.

“And here…” He kissed her shin, which elicited an unexpected giggle from her.

“My legs are ticklish,” she warned, straightening to sit upright against the bed.

He ignored her. He liked her giggles. Giggles meant she wasn’t sad. Time for more giggles.

“And here… and here… and here… ” he said rapidly between putting multiple kisses around her knee.

Rayla yelped as she snapped her leg straight and slammed it to the floor, wrenching it out of Callum’s hands. Callum jerked back in surprise. 

Rayla sat laughing. “I’m so sorry,” she apologized between gasps for air. “My knees are especially ticklish.”

He turned to her with wide eyes and hands raised in surrender. “Very ticklish knees. May cause injury to bystanders. Got it.”

Once Rayla stopped laughing, she brushed back hair that had fallen in her face and sat upright like the confident Rayla he knew. She put her hand on his hand and smiled at him. “That was very sweet,” she said softly squeezing his hand.

Her smile lifted the weight on his heart, and he smiled back – a big, goofy smile, but he didn’t care. He never wanted her to think she wasn’t good enough for him. If anything, he wasn’t good enough for her. They were a thing – and nothing could change how much he loved her.

“Now do you believe I love you just the way you are,” he asked.

“Yea,” she replied nodding. “That _was_ pretty convincin’.”

“And do you believe I love all your fur,” he continued.

She raised her eyebrows. “ _All_ my fur?” she asked smiling mischievously. “Are you suuure?” she continued, drawing out the question.

Callum was confused. “Yes, I’m sure I love all your –”

What she was implying finally hit him. “Wait... no, I’m not sure... I mean yes, of course I’m sure… maybe… definitely… eventually?” he stammered his face flushing. “Really, I wasn’t implying… you know… that…”

Rayla just sat with an amused look on her face.

He tried explaining his way out of this hole. “I mean, since it’s you, I’m sure I would love all your fur. But I wasn’t thinking of that when I said it.” He stared at the floor, his face drooping– he hoped his explanation was okay.

“Oh Callum, I’m sorry I teased you,” she said. “You were tryin’ so hard to cheer me up and I got you all flustered.” She took both of his hands. “Callum, I know you didn’t mean it that way,” she said seriously. “I shouldn’t tease you like that.” 

“That’s okay. If you’re teasing me, it means you’re feeling better. I’m sorry I made assumptions about your culture.”

“And I’m sorry I overreacted.” Her expression softened. “Can we sit together like before?”

“I’d like that,” he said moving to sit next to her. He put his arm around her as she leaned her head against his shoulder while they both leaned against the bed. 

They sat silently for a while – their legs outstretched next to each other like before the misunderstanding began.

“I’m glad you’re okay with my legs not being smooth,” Rayla said rubbing her leg against his.

He removed his arm from her shoulder and leaned forward to place his hand on her bare knee. “More than okay,” he replied. “My trained artist hand says your legs are soft and silky.” His hand moved slowly back from the knee to the ankle. “Like fine cloth.” He moved his hand back towards her knee. “It feels very nice –”

“Thank you,” she said appreciatively.

 _…and very sexy,_ he thought, not ready to say _that_ out loud. Time to change the subject before things got embarrassing. He stopped rubbing her leg to take her hand while subtly pulling the cloak over his lap with the other hand. “Maybe we should talk about something other than how incredibly attractive you and your fur are,” he suggested.

“Good idea,” she agreed far too readily. “Why don’t we talk about how incredibly attractive you and your fur are.” She smiled expectantly.

“What!” Callum exclaimed, shocked at the idea that he might have attractive fur. “What are you talking about?”

“You are going to have a beard, aren’t you,” she asked. “That is a human thing, right?”

“Yea,” he replied. He wasn’t looking forward to discussing his meager facial hair. “I guess elven men don’t have beards, do they?”

“Nope,” she replied. “Maybe some fuzz. But it isn’t very visible except up close.”

“I’m not very furry now either. Just a few hairs on my face.” He rubbed one hand on his chin. Maybe he was attractive to an elf now because he didn’t have much of a beard. But that wouldn’t last forever.

“I should warn you – I’m probably going to get furrier… a lot furrier,” he admitted. “I’ll most likely have a full, thick beard in a few years. If I don’t shave for a few days, I’ll look like Soren when he first got here.” He turned away from her looking down. “Will you still kiss me if I have a beard,” he asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” she replied. She turned and placed a hand on his face, exploring. “Hmmm…”, she said studying his face. “I’ll have to wait to see how it feels when it’s grown in,” she finally declared.

Callum turned. “If a beard causes me to lose even one of your kisses, I’m shaving every day,” he stated emphatically.

“Don’t do that!” Rayla exclaimed. “I’m sorry, I thought you were joking about me not kissing you so I was playing along.” She held his face in her hands. “Silly human. Of course, I’ll still kiss you, even with a beard.” She reinforced her words with a quick kiss before leaning back to study his face. “Although… I think you would look better if you keep it trimmed. Maybe like Corvus does. His beard looks nice.”

“I can do that!” he replied. For those kisses he would trim his beard… and do a whole lot more. He was relieved the beard wouldn’t be a problem. But that still left plenty of other possible hairy situations. Since fur discussions were going smoothly (furrily?) so far, he thought he’d check if any other human/elf fur differences might cause problems.

“Elven men don’t have hair on their chests, do they?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

“Nope,” she replied. “Just some light fuzz. Nothing really noticeable. I bet human men have hair on their chest as well as their face.” She had figured out where he was headed. 

“Yep. And on their stomach,” he replied. “Some guys even have hair on their backs too,” he said a bit defensively. He hoped she wouldn’t think it was gross. He had no idea how furry he would be as an adult.

She seemed to consider this new detail while looking thoughtfully at the ceiling. “Wow, that’s furry,” she stated evenly. 

Callum waited expectantly for her to continue, but she just sat there. He started to worry; all this thinking wasn’t a good sign.

Finally, she turned and looked at his shirt. “Do you have hair on _your_ chest?” she asked.

That was not what he expected her to say. “Not much, but some,” he replied.

Her eyes widened. “Can I see?”, she asked excitedly.

This was quickly becoming embarrassing. “Seriously?” he asked incredulously, his voice rising in pitch. _Oh yea,_ he thought. _Nothing impresses a girl as much as sounding like a 10-year old. Except maybe showing her your woefully underdeveloped definitely-not-manly torso for close inspection._ He needed to talk her out of this. “Trust me, you don’t want to see my sad example of a manly human chest,” he said desperately.

She looked him straight in the eye. “Yes, I do,” she stated firmly. “I’ve never seen a hairy chest – and I want to see yours.”

Callum looked at her with his best impression of the pitiful Ez look; it always got Ez jelly tarts.

Rayla was unmoved. “You got to love my fur. Now I get to love your fur”, she insisted crossing her arms. “Now young human, show me your chest hair.”

She was right. Fair’s fair. Callum threw back his cloak and pulled his sleep shirt up under his arms revealing his chest and stomach. He was surprised by the number of bruises – they were almost more noticeable than the few small patches of dark brown hair.

Rayla moved her hand towards his chest but paused. “Can I touch it?” she asked hesitantly. “I won’t touch the bruises.”

“Sure,” he replied. “Like you said, I got to love your fur, so it’s only fair you get to love mine… such that it is.”

Surprisingly, she pulled back her hand and rolled to kneel facing him, straddling his outstretched legs at the knees. He was impressed by her agility. But if someone saw them like this, it would definitely not look good.

“That’s better. Now I’m goin’ to love _your_ fur,” she declared. 

She threaded her fingers through the hair on either side of his head and leaned forward to kiss the hair on the top of his head.

“I love your fur here…”

He barely felt the kiss. Kissing the top of his head put the front of her shirt much too close to his face. He desperately needed to stop thinking about how her curves were near enough for –

“I guess you don’t have fur on your chest,” he said quickly. He immediately realized how stupid it was. _Sure, ask her about her chest,_ he thought. _Great way to not think about her chest._

Rayla seemed amused by the question. She leaned back, sat on his shins and smiled. “No, I don’t. Good try, but I’m still gonna love _your_ chest fur,” she said. 

He sighed with relief. Luckily, she didn’t seem to understand the actual reason he’d blurted out the question.

She sat for a moment before leaning forward to study his face. She gently ran her fingertips over his cheeks and throat noting the hairs that had sprouted, mostly on his chin. They had touched each other’s faces before, but the way she studied him, her fingers gently exploring his skin, was somehow more intimate than when they had kissed. Finally, she grasped both sides of his head below the ears, tilted his head back, and kissed his chin.

She raised her mouth from his chin just enough to speak. “I love your fur here…” she whispered looking him in the eyes –her breath washed across his face as she spoke. 

She sat back on his legs and studied his exposed chest. Reaching out one hand, she touched the patch of hair in the center of his chest. She moved her hand slowly upward, letting the hairs slide between her fingers. Her touch was electric – more powerful than anything from Zym – even more than his fulminus spell. He wondered if she felt the same when he was loving her fur.

She placed a hand on each shoulder and leaned forward, moving her face towards the center of his chest, apparently intending to kiss the hair she had just touched. He could feel the blush in his cheeks.

“And, I love your fur –” 

A loud knock on the door shattered the moment. They both froze.

“Who is it?” they asked in unison, voices pitched higher than normal.

“Opeli,” a voice replied. “Wait… are both of you in there?”

Still frozen in place, they watched the door slowly swing open. Opeli stood framed in the doorway, hands on her hips, with an extremely disapproving look on her face. “What are you two doing,” she asked sternly.

“Nothing!” they said, again in unison.

“Well, it certainly looks like something to me,” she stated firmly. “Callum, please pull your shirt down.” 

Callum hurriedly obeyed. 

Opeli looked at them and sighed. “Now can you _please_ extricate yourselves from one another?” 

Rayla rolled off Callum’s legs and sat back next to him – neither daring to move.

“Now stand up so I can talk to you,” Opeli said, sounding exasperated. 

Rayla and Callum leapt to their feet like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Callum braced himself for a lecture.

“I need you both to get dressed and ready to meet with representatives from the elven and human lands. Your clean clothes are outside your respective doors. Meet me and King Ezran at the main hall as soon as you can. Is that clear?” She sounded like a Katolan army sergeant. 

Opeli glared at Callum who nodded vigorously. 

She turning to Rayla, waiting for her agreement. 

Rayla seemed to wither under her gaze. “We weren’t doin’ anythin’,” she explained. “We were just talkin’ about how human men have hair on their chest and elven men don’t.”

“So, I was just showing her my chest hair,” added Callum. 

Opeli did not seem swayed by their explanation. “You’re lucky it was I who walked in. There are plenty of others who are _not_ comfortable with your relationship. The two of you are seen by many as a symbol of our alliance. Even an elf and human holding hands is going to take time for some to accept, on both sides. Just as it will take time for them to accept even a basic level of cooperation between humans and elves. A more… let’s say… intimate relationship on your part might inflame old prejudices to the detriment of our new alliance.” Opeli looked at them both and sighed. “Why do you think I provided you with separate rooms?” she inquired.

“I think we both understand why we have separate rooms,” Callum replied sheepishly. He knew Opeli was trying to do what she thought was right. But he wanted to be clear their relationship wasn’t some diplomatic plaything. “But we didn’t ask to be the symbol of this alliance,” he said more confidently. “All we wanted to do was bring Zym home and stop a war. We travelled alone together a long time to do that. If we were going to do anything ‘more intimate’, we could have done it then. Why can’t we just be together the way we want?” he asked.

Opeli took a deep breath before replying. “Most people don’t know the details of your journey here,” Opeli explained patiently. “And even if they did, it’s one thing to hear about something and another to see it with your own eyes.” She entered the room and sat on the lone chair, hands on her lap. She looked tired. “I apologize for putting this burden on you,” she said calmly. “I know you didn’t request to be a symbol of our future. However, I believe your relationship contributes significantly to the probability of securing an alliance between humans and elves.” Talking about the alliance seemed to revive her. “So, can you limit your public displays of affection to holding hands? At least for a little while?” she implored.

Callum reached over and took Rayla’s hand. Rayla looked at him and gave his hand a squeeze. “We’ll just hold hands in public,” Rayla replied watching Opeli sigh in relief. “Long as I can kiss him in private,” Rayla said smirking. 

Callum brought his free hand to his face. _Does everyone have to know about us kissing_ he thought. “Yes, we can do that,” Callum added. “I mean, just hold hands in public like you asked. Not the kissing in private… well, we’d like to do that too…” Even just talking about kissing flustered him. “As you can see, we’re new to this boyfriend and girlfriend stuff. I don’t think we’re ready for a ‘more intimate’ relationship anytime soon.” 

He hurried to change the subject. “Anyway, thank you for taking care of us last night. We really appreciate it. We feel so much better.”

Opeli’s expression softened – she seemed to accept their assurances. “It was my pleasure,” she said as she stood and walked to the door. “I’m glad you’re both feeling better. I’ll leave you now so you can finish your breakfast and make yourselves presentable.” 

She started to close the door but stopped and turned to them, smiling warmly. “I am very proud of both of you – that you’re willing to help politically – and that you’re not rushing things. Take the time to savor every step as your relationship blossoms.” She paused turning to Rayla. “And Rayla dear, a word of advice – if you want to kiss him in private, make sure you lock the door.” 

Opeli smiled knowingly as she closed the door firmly behind her, the latch clicking in place.

As soon as the latch clicked, Rayla turned and threw her arms around Callum’s neck pulling his face close to hers. “Opeli locked the door,” she whispered. “So now I can kiss you in private,” she said kissing him gently. 

Callum returned the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. She felt different without her armor – softer and warmer. Even after the kiss, they held each other without speaking, just their foreheads touching. 

Callum finally broke the silence. “Guess we need to be responsible and get ready to meet Opeli,” he said softly.

Rayla just held him tighter. “I don’ want to let you go, but… you’re right. We have to show her we can be trusted,” she whispered back.

“And we still have breakfast to finish,” Callum offered releasing his hug. 

Rayla gave him a quick kiss before removing her arms from his neck. “True. We can’t fix the world on an empty stomach,” she said moving to the table and picking up the fruit.

“We do need to keep up our strength,” Callum agreed, following her to the table. “Sounds like keeping elves and humans from hating each other is going to be a lot of work. Just look at our confusion over fur. If a simple thing like that can cause so much trouble, imagine what something serious could do.”

Rayla finished her fruit and licked her fingers. Apparently Xadian fruit really didn’t have any seeds. Callum started eating his piece.

“No, it won’t be easy,” Rayla replied. “But we can show how elves and humans _can_ live together. Show that different people do things differently. One isn’t right and the other wrong – they’re just… different. It’ll be hard, but Ethari always said, anythin’ worth having is worth workin’ for.”

“We could be interpreters and mediators when there are misunderstandings,” Callum replied between bites. 

Rayla paced the floor giggling. “We’ll flaunt both human and elven norms like rebellious teens,” she said excitedly. “With your furry beard and chest – and my furry legs and underarms.” She stopped suddenly and put her hands to her face in mock horror. “Who knows what might happen? Human girls not shavin’. Elven girls shavin’… Oh no!” 

Callum played along. “Human men could shave their chests. Fur or no fur would be a personal choice, not something racial.” His eyes lit up as a huge smile formed on his face. “Maybe we’ll prevent a war…” He paused for dramatic effect. “BY A HAIR!”

Callum studied her, waiting for a reaction while trying to contain his laughter – but ended up making silly snorting sounds. Rayla stared at him for a moment before bursting into uncontrolled laughter. Unable to contain himself any longer, Callum joined her laughter as they both sank to the floor, laughing until they cried. 

It was a while before either could catch their breath enough to speak.

“It really wasn’t that funny,” Rayla insisted finally between giggles.

“I know,” Callum gasped. “But I can’t stop laughing,” he said before another of guffaw.

“I think we needed a good laugh,” she reflected after gaining some composure. “The last few days were pretty stressful.”

“How about the last few weeks. We could certainly use some downtime.” 

“But duty calls,” Rayla said, resigned. She stood slowly and picked up her bowl. “We should get ready to start this new adventure.”

“You’re right,” Callum admitted groaning as he stood up – hopefully, this bruising would heal soon. Callum grabbed his bowl, packed up his breakfast and headed for the door with the tray.

Rayla opened the door for him. He stepped into the hallway and saw the clean clothes outside each of their doors just like Opeli had said. He turned back to the room where she stood in the doorway smiling at him. 

He smiled back. “I’m glad we can help elves and humans work through their issues,” he said cheerfully.

“Me too,” she said, once again leaning forward to quickly kiss his nose. “We’ll certainly be the experts on any fur issues,” she said ruffling his hair with one hand. 

His expression grew serious. “You know, I wasn’t kidding,” he said. He paused to glance up and down the hallway making sure they were alone before leaning close to her. “I really, really do love your fur,” he whispered.

Rayla grabbed his cheeks with both hands. “And I really, really love your fur,” she replied as she leaned over the tray and kissed him – a tender, lingering kiss.

 _I guess this means all fur issues are settled,_ he thought, trying to not drop the tray.

Far too soon, she broke off the kiss and stepped back into her room. A shy smile grew on her face. “Maybe someday, I’ll let you love _all_ my fur,” she said, closing the door.

The latch clicked. He stood shocked and motionless in front of the closed door. _Love all her fur?_ He definitely didn’t understand everything that implied – girls were still a vast mystery to him. Sandwiches were apparently much more complicated than he had been led to believe. Soren seemed to understand girls. Maybe he could help explain things.

Finally, he realized how silly he looked standing alone in the hallway… in his sleep clothes… with an empty tray... staring at a closed door. He turned and walked back to his room to get ready. However, his thoughts were not about preparing for upcoming meetings. He was thinking about… 

Fur.

\----- FIN -----

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for making it all the way through. I hope it was worthwhile. Even with the puns.
> 
> I tried to make the scenes where Callum loves her fur come across as sweet and tender, not creepy. Hopefully, that worked.
> 
> Being a 14+ year old boy, Callum is in equal measure excited and terrified by this relationship with an older, more mature girl. But he tries his best, cares a lot, and comes through when it counts. 
> 
> They discover that things you just accept as normal, might not be normal for everyone. And that’s okay. Something we could use more of in our world.
> 
> I’m still learning this writing craft, so it will probably be a while before my next posting. I’m planning on at least 2 or 3 more in the series, growing from one-shots into multiple chapters. I’m hoping I’ll get faster with experience.
> 
> Your feedback is greatly appreciated. What you liked. What didn't work for you. General impressions. That’s how I get better.
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


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